Lewiston police on Monday were investigating how a sport utility vehicle ran over a 9-year-old boy riding a bicycle on Saturday, weighing various factors before deciding whether to charge the teenage driver.

Lt. Mike McGonagle of the Lewiston Police Department said the victim, Jordan Norwood, remained in critical but stable condition at Maine Medical Center in Portland on Monday.

The 17-year-old driver, Matthew S. Moran, has had his license for just over four months.

“At this point, (Moran) has not been charged, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be,” McGonagle said Monday evening.

According to Lewiston police, Norwood, who was not wearing a helmet, was riding his bicycle on Tall Pines Drive around 11:20 a.m. Saturday when Moran, who was driving a Ford Explorer, approached him from behind. Moran told police the boy was riding in the middle of the left side of the road and appeared to be turning left into a driveway when Moran decided to pass the bicycle on the right side of Tall Pines Drive.

When Moran started to pass the boy, Norwood swerved into his path, police said.

Tall Pines Drive winds through a densely populated development along the Androscoggin River known as River Valley Apartments. Both boys live there, Moran on Tall Pines Drive and Norwood on Strawberry Avenue.

Moran’s father said the boys didn’t know each other.

“(Matthew) was devastated when it happened,” Scott Moran said on Monday night.

According to its website, the complex is an affordable-housing development with more than 200 dwelling units. McGonagle said the posted speed limit on Tall Pines Drive is 25 mph.

As part of their investigation, Lewiston police are looking at a number of factors that may have contributed to the crash, including speed and whether Moran had started to slow down – there was a stop sign about 50 feet from where the crash took place.

Moran has no driving convictions or accidents, according to records maintained by the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

Moran obtained his learner’s permit in March 2014. He was issued a driver’s license on April 6, 2015.

McGonagle cautioned all motorists to be careful when driving near children on bicycles.

“There are tons of kids all over the place,” McGonagle said of the River Valley Apartments complex. “Whenever people are driving around kids on bikes, you need to use extra caution. Even if a kid is on his front lawn, they are known to dart out in the street. Kids on bikes are very unpredictable.”

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Pete2

Parents teach these stupid behaviors: “ride on the left side so you can see the cars coming”, or “jump on the sidewalk when a car is coming”. This is the result. Hope he can pull it out and make a full recovery.

Michael conservative

Actually Pete you are supposed to ride a bike in the same direction as vehicular traffic you are supposed to walk facing oncoming traffic

John Brooking

The general state of bicycle education in this country is abysmal. I don’t want to blame the parents too much for not knowing; how would they? Some older people were actually taught to ride against traffic when they were kids.

Some other countries teach bike safety in every school to every child, and that would be a great thing here. Until that day, schools who wish to teach bicycle safety to their students can contact the Bicycle Coalition of Maine, who will send a certified instructor to give presentations free of charge.

But beyond the cyclist behavior and knowledge, I wonder how much space the motorist was giving the bicyclist, and how much he slowed down, if any. In the case of passing an unaccompanied 9-year-old cyclist, I would definitely provide more than the legal minimum of three feet, and slow down well under the posted maximum speed limit. I have a 17-year-old (and was once one myself), and I know that wisdom and caution is not very highly developed yet.